This Blog is dedicated to the middle of the pack triathlete who is passionate about our sport and believes it is the best lifestyle you can choose.

02/20/2017

The Gift of a "Forced" Day Off

Yesterday we got hit with a little more rain in our season of wetness and storms and it luckily forced me into a day off of training. Well, I guess it didn't force me to take the day off but damn, I needed it! I finally got some serious hours on the saddle and had a great week of workouts. Yesterday the plan was to get on the bike for about three hours and go up Honey Springs Road with my friends Paul and Julia. Both of them are way better than me on the bike so this was going to be a difficult ride.

The reason for the post is taking a rest day when you need it. I had no intention on taking this day off but the past six days leading up to yesterday was my first big real week of training. Here is my recap from www.traininpeaks.com:

Almost 12 hours of training and some serious swim and bike time. I even got bike running while rehabbing my groin m muscle.

The Form number is interesting on the training peaks is interesting in that it tries to evaluate your combined fatigue and fitness with a goal of near zero when you go into a race. You want to have a big negative when you are building up your fitness during the hard work phase. I haven't been negative in quite some time since I haven't been hitting it that hard.

This week the pendulum swung back hard and it felt good until yesterday. I woke up and it was raining and I silently said, "Thank you!" What most people don't understand when beginning to train for a distance event, mentally you get fatigued first. Your mind starts to tell you it doesn't want to work out. With Ironman training there are times when you can't listen to those voices but as I get older I am taking that day off when I hear that voice and most importantly not letting it bother me or make me worry about my fitness.

So, taking yesterday off was definitely a gift and I enjoyed it. I did some reading, a little work and some cleaning but mostly just watched some TV.

Today, I am excited and eager to get back to the work. This week will be another big one and I feel energized on a Monday. That is not a bad thing!

Comments

The Gift of a "Forced" Day Off

Yesterday we got hit with a little more rain in our season of wetness and storms and it luckily forced me into a day off of training. Well, I guess it didn't force me to take the day off but damn, I needed it! I finally got some serious hours on the saddle and had a great week of workouts. Yesterday the plan was to get on the bike for about three hours and go up Honey Springs Road with my friends Paul and Julia. Both of them are way better than me on the bike so this was going to be a difficult ride.

The reason for the post is taking a rest day when you need it. I had no intention on taking this day off but the past six days leading up to yesterday was my first big real week of training. Here is my recap from www.traininpeaks.com:

Almost 12 hours of training and some serious swim and bike time. I even got bike running while rehabbing my groin m muscle.

The Form number is interesting on the training peaks is interesting in that it tries to evaluate your combined fatigue and fitness with a goal of near zero when you go into a race. You want to have a big negative when you are building up your fitness during the hard work phase. I haven't been negative in quite some time since I haven't been hitting it that hard.

This week the pendulum swung back hard and it felt good until yesterday. I woke up and it was raining and I silently said, "Thank you!" What most people don't understand when beginning to train for a distance event, mentally you get fatigued first. Your mind starts to tell you it doesn't want to work out. With Ironman training there are times when you can't listen to those voices but as I get older I am taking that day off when I hear that voice and most importantly not letting it bother me or make me worry about my fitness.

So, taking yesterday off was definitely a gift and I enjoyed it. I did some reading, a little work and some cleaning but mostly just watched some TV.

Today, I am excited and eager to get back to the work. This week will be another big one and I feel energized on a Monday. That is not a bad thing!